Amex charges to the top of satisfaction rankings

Consumers credit American Express with the best customer satisfaction, according to a new survey released Tuesday by J.D. Power and Associates.

South Florida played a big part in the company attaining the No. 1 ranking because much of its U.S. customer service operations are in Broward County.

The survey ranked credit card companies on how they handled benefits and features, rewards, billing and payment processing, fees and interest rates and problem resolution.

Discover, which has no annual fee and offers cash-back rewards, ranked second. Ten credit card issuers were examined, including Citigroup's Citi Cards, Capital One and Bank of America. HSBC came in last place in the customer service survey.

While some cards focus on airline rewards, for example, American Express has a broad range of card options, said Jeff Taylor, senior director of banking practices with J.D. Power, a firm known for consumer surveys for the automotive and health-care industries.

Benefits vary by credit card but may include purchase protection, travel-related insurance, automobile rental collision coverage, concierge service and companion airfares. Hotel rewards and cash rewards are especially popular with consumers, Taylor said.

CardRatings.com founder Curtis Arnold said American Express deserved the top ranking, but he would like to see credit card companies rated on more "hot button" issues such as misleading practices on interest rates, late fees and default policies.

"There's still serious issues that need to be addressed," Arnold said.

American Express has the highest number of customers who pay an annual fee, according to the survey.

But Arnold said American Express actually has many new cards that don't carry annual fees. And some American Express cards offer rebates on purchases and no late fees.

"They're reaching out a lot more to the average Joe on the street. I think that's good for the rest of us that don't fall into the high-end demographic," he said.

The study showed credit card users prefer certain credit cards, depending on how they use them and the rewards offered. Almost 65 percent of credit card holders who say they usually pay the full balance on their card each month said rewards were most important to them, according to the survey.

Credit card holders who pay less than the full balance each month say lower interest rates and fees are most important to them.

Consumers who pay off their card balances monthly and pay on time should shop credit cards for rewards, Taylor said. And they should check how easy it is to redeem rewards.

For consumers who carry a credit-card balance, the interest rate and credit limit becomes more important.

Citi Cards has the highest average credit limit, $17,604, according to the survey, with American Express a close second at $16,018. The industry average is almost $11,000. Median annual fees range from $25 for Wells Fargo to $80 for American Express. Discover charges no annual fee.

Overall customer satisfaction with credit cards is lower than with mortgages or other types of loans, J.D. Power says. One reason may be the cost. Interest rates on the cards vary widely from 5.99 percent or less to higher than 18 percent, the survey showed.

J.D. Power's survey included 7,812 respondents who had used their credit cards in the past three months.

American Express is Broward County's second-largest private employer with 6,000 employees and plans to add 600 employees to its call center operations next year.

"We couldn't be prouder," said Doria Camaraza, who heads American Express' Plantation and Weston operations.

Workers under her watch have been coached to "make a decision on the spot," a key factor in keeping customers happy. For example, Ruddie Ogbourne, who works in dispute resolution for American Express in Plantation, made the decision to refund a customer when he thought a cardholder was misled on an Internet purchase.

For information on all the credit-card rankings, go to www.jdpower.com/finance.

Marcia Heroux Pounds can be reached at mpounds@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6650.